The battle of Mazzenine
The planet Mazzenine. Fought over by unplayed FC's and OC's not yet brought to life for the past several decades, it is a highly sought after world, and one that is about to heat up. Bases for both factions dot the landscape. Decepticons, routed from other outposts by the alien Coalition of the Brave, has relocated here, tripling their numbers in the past week alone. The Autobot presence across the continent has been forced to hunker down and expect the worst. The worst, meanwhile, is now descending from the Decepticon shuttle Triumph towards the Mazzenine Decepticon Headquarters. Shockwave, a squadron of elita Seekers, and likely more have arrived. Out in the base's courtyard, rows upon rows of Decepticon troopers await, ready to move out, sweep over the Autobot lines, and then prepare for the alien invasion fleet they know is coming. Avarice arrived a couple of minutes before the Triumph. He was sent here by Scourge for a reason he is not ready to admit. For now he's lurking on the edge of the gumbies rank trying to kill time before the assault on the Autobots. The shuttle Triumph lands with a final hiss of thrusters, smoke roiling out around it. The ramp lowers, and the first one out is none other than Scorponok himself. He steps down onto the landing pad, then paces in front of the Decepticons gathered there, going row by row, sizing them up, looking them in the optics, saying nothing. Finally, he steps away from the gathered troops to address them as a whole. Looking off to the side for a moment, as if pondering something (or maybe chatting with Zarak in his head), Scorponok turns to the troops, announcing, "I'm not going to sugar coat this for you, Decepticons. Our situation is not good. Though we may now outnumber the Autobots on this world, that advantage will be short-lived when the Coalition arrives, picking favorites as they always do and attacking *us.* And when the Coalition arrives, we are going to take casualties. A lot of them." He gestures off in the distance to the nearest Autobot fortress with one of his massive claws. "So this is what we have to do, Decepticons. We have to stomp on the Autobots, HARD, right now, before the Coalition arrives! We must wipe them out as fast as we can, for we cannot fight two foes at once!" He stomps forward, looming over the front rank of troops. "Yes, many of you will give your lives, but just imagine, those WRETCHED AUTOBOTS, laughing at us in their camps, smugly thinking to themselves of how the stupid aliens are doing their dirty work for them, even as their idiot of a boy leader blithely ignores the dire threat those same aliens pose to our planet! They would all have us slaughtered! Well, I tell you Decepticons, I'm not going to let any alien scum or any of their Autobot FRIENDS KILL ME! I'm going to KILL THEM FIRST, and if I die in the process, then I hope that I have first made for myself a burial mound out of THEIR bodies first! Now, Decepticons, will you stand with me and defend your homeworld!?" There's a raucous cry from the troops. "YEAH! Kill the Autobots!" "KILL 'EM ALL!" "That's good, Decepticons! TAKE FLIGHT! TAKE FLIGHT AND DESTROY!" And Scorponok hurls himself into the air, followed by swarms of Decepticons, headed for the closest of the Autobot bases. "DESSTROOYYY!" <'Decepticon'> Shockwave says, "Decepticons, this is Shockwave. Scorponok has given the order: initiate the invasion plan." Velum has arrived. Elita One has arrived. Meanwhile onboard The Steelhaven... There's activity everywhere in the Steelhaven hangar: Autobots prepping smallarms, loading ordinance into smaller shuttles. Squadron leaders reviewing deployment plans with their troops, all to the tune of blaring alarms and arrival updates. It's chaotic to the point that hardly anyone notices Rodimus Prime's entrance, moving quickly towards favored shuttle The Retoris and flanked by Datapop, and finalizing plans with two other Autobots: special operative Holodeck and Trailbreaker. "You're sure you can make this work?" It's not much of an ace in the hole, but with such short notice, it would have to work. Holodeck nods, almost irritated he's being asked. "Of course, Prime. The real question is if Trailbreaker's control over forcefield manipulation is as good as he always rants about it being." A sharp glance from Rodimus prevents Trailbreaker from punching Holodeck in the face. "Let's hope you're both as good as you say. Lives are at stake." He dismisses the two with a nod and then steps up the ramp of the Retoris, overlooking the masses prepping for battle. He gives Datapop a nod, who switches the microphone installed on top of his head on, projecting Prime's voice. "Autobots, I'll keep this short and sweet. We're coming in hot, and we're outnumbered. This is going to be a hell of a fight. Take care of each other down there- it's the only road to victory we've got. Till all are one." Grim? A little overdramatic? Given recent events, can you blame the guy? Blaster, somehow, is already seated in The Retoris. He's got his own personal station that is reminiscent of where Uhura sits in strange Terran science fiction television programs. And he's making sure that he's keeping tabs on communications both in and out and around the shuttle. It's what he does, after all. His hands are working over time as he flips through channels, reads chatter transcripts and uploads various playlists into the shuttle's PA system all at the same time. Looking at him, though, would show that it's all good in his hood, really. He's doing this without even shorting a wire. Skillz. The moment that Rodimus is done with his speech, he spins slightly in his seat and flips a switch, activating the shuttle's PA system. "Alright, alright! You heard the Main Mech! We got this joint in the bag. It ain't no party we ain't crashed before." Blaster is all about tossing some extra words of encouragement out to the Autobots assembling. Maybe to counter RodiGrimus or maybe because he's just mad optimistic, yo. "So here's what I want you 'Bots to do. I need y'all to get up... everybody get up..." Cue: http://youtu.be/J9FImc2LOr8 Elita One stands off to the side of the hanger of the Steelhaven, doublechecking attack vectors and the other minutia of preparation. She slaps the mech on the back, whose been plugging numbers then skirts off to a second hub of activity. "Powerplay, talk to me!" Within moments, a rather bulky artillerybot approaches as she checks on the shuttles, He rumbles his report, "We're nowhere near optimal readiness, weapons are free and manned, but we're underequipped for the fight." She nods as she ducks under a wing the stouter Powerplay needent adjust for, "Right, right, Its not exactly a prime defense, we'll make do. We always do." A hovertrack passes before her, she snags a quick thirty second lift on it before hopping out near the Prime. "Rodimus, Situation is exactly what you think it is. Teams are as coordinates as they can get for now." She raises her fist in a motion of strength. "Let's give em smelt." It may be strange to see EDC presence here, but Velum wasn't ordered to come here, instead volunteering to join the fight. It beats talking to Llyra, that's for sure. At the moment she sits in the open cockpit of her exo, running an internal weapons check while testing the sights on her rifle. At Rodimus' speech she stops what she's doing to look over and smirk at the weight of his words. It's grim, yes, but that's just what one needs to get them in the mood for a fight. Once her suit's good to go she seals up the cockpit and holsters rifle at her back before stepping up to board the shuttle and giving a nod to Rodimus, the eyes of her suit flashing when she speaks. "Ready when you are, Prime." Climbing up into her large exo suit, Velum straps in, fires it up, and is ready to fight Sanguine is doing final checks before deployment. The doctor is mostly done with herself, doing one last review of her equipment before stowing it away and striding towards a shuttle. Her optics glance to and fro, roaming over the various battlebots assembled for any last minute things that look out of order. She pauses when Rodimus rises to speak, and gives him the time that he deserves. Duly inspired, Sanguine continues towards the shuttle and the battle below. Not that she looks grim about it, the doctor is smiling in her usual way. She snags a pistol on the way into the craft and takes her place among the other Bots. Shockwave isn't going to give Avarice much chance to kill time, because moments after Shockwave and company step out onto the tarmac, the order has been given to begin the attack. The Military Commander had been expecting to give the official commencement order, but he shouldn't be surprised that Scorponok has taken it upon himself. The one-eyed, one-armed mech stands behind and to the side of the current Decepticon warlord, saying nothing and reacting little to the speech. But when they all shout their enthusiasm for annihilating both the Autobots and aliens, Shockwave transforms into gun mode, falling in line with the mass of soldiers that take to the skies or skim along the ground. "Lets put a stop to any Autobot/alien alliance real fast!" a Seeker shouts gleefully. SOON... Laser Gun unleashes a powerful energy blast, blowing a hole open in the third outpost they've attacked so far. With Decepticon siege tanks bombarding it from afar, speedier Cons swoop in to try and fight the Autobot defenders. All across the continent, Decepticons are attacking en masse. Meanwhile... up in orbit, one by one, alien ships of a multitude of exotic designs, begins dropping out of FTL in orbit. Avarice is quick to follow Scorponok. He leaps into the air and transforms into his sweepcraft mode. Soon, the sweep his diving towards each and every targets that present itself. Every times he gets the chance, he drains a gumby from his energy. He's soon getting overenergized as he strikes again and again. [ Defense Levels ] Level +Attack +Dodge ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PROTECTED -10 +10 GUARDED 0 0 NEUTRAL +10 -10 AGGRESSIVE +20 -20 FEARLESS +30 -30 [ Use !defend to change Defense Levels ] At an Autobot fortress, its defenders look up in shock over their battlements as the horde of Decepticons soars above them. They knew the numbers were bad, but to see the actual evidence is another thing entirely. Nevertheless, they man their gun emplacements bravely, firing up at the approaching horde, bringing down many. However, the Decepticon return fire is much more fearsome, and soon the fortress is fired upon by so many Decepticon energy weapons at once that it becomes blinding to look upon. The fortress holds up fairly well under the assault, but even its sturdy defenses can't hold up forever under the barrage. Massive armor plates suffer hit after hit, dotted with red-hot pock-marks, and explosions from missiles and bombs shake the ground and leave flaming wreckage in their wake. And then the Decepticons descend. Scorponok is of course among the first to land on the battlements with a bellow of, "DESTROY!" An Autobot anti-air turret turns to blast him, but Scorponok sees it coming, turning his energized shield towards it just in time to deflect the spray of pulsed lasers. The monstrous Decepticon wades through it behind his shield, and when he's close enough, one swipe of his claws smashes the barrels aside, and Scorponok then wraps his arms around the turret, grunting as he strains himself, and finally ripping the gun out of its housing. "WHERE!?" Scorponok roars as he hurls the turret down the battlements, its two screaming Autobot gunners still inside. It explodes on impact with the ground. "WHERE ARE YOUR CHAMPIONS, AUTOBOTS!?" A Decepticon that turns into an AWACS lands near Scorponok, saluting even as lasers go every which way. "Sir! We're picking up the Coalition jumping in over the planet!" "Already!?" Scorponok bellows at the gumby, causing him to cower. "Blast it, it's too soon!--" Apocryphacius has arrived. <'Decepticon'> Shockwave says, "Scorponok, we may have a problem." <'Decepticon'> Scorponok says, "I KNOW! They're HERE." <'Decepticon'> Shockwave says, "Twenty thousand astroseconds earlier than anticipated." <'Decepticon'> Scorponok says, "Hnnngh--must be the Autobots' meddling!" <'Decepticon'> Shockwave says, "Agreed. They likely hastened their arrival to support their Autobot allies." A smaller yellow Autobot is all smiles when Sanguine straps in next to him. "Hey! You're Sanguine! Cool! I'm Brakepump- because I'm moving up the ladder so fast I've got to pump the brakes sometimes!" He gives her hand an excited shake. "So glad I get to make my very first combat drop with a legit Autobot doc! I'm gonna make Prime before you know it!" Meanwhile, on the Retoris... Rodimus manages a smile for Elita. "Well, I'd hate for us to leave our comfort zone..." Tapping Datapop's head, he once again addresses the Steelhaven as bay doors begin opening across the hangar. "All shuttles, scramble! Hit them hard, Autobots!" He moves to the front of the Retoris towards Blaster, as the shuttle blasts off, resting a hand on the shoulder of Velum's exo in greeting. He points at a spot on the ground that happens to be where Shockwave is. "That's our spot. Gun it." Suddenly alarms go off, and Teletraan Mobile comes online. <> Rodimus makes up an appropriate swear word, and much to his assistant's annoyance, slams the top of his head again. "Autobots, this is Prime. We've had a new player enter the game- Engage the Decepticons, and keep them away from Coalition forces. Do not, under any cirumstances, engage the Coalition. I repeat, do not engage the Coalition.>> At this point, Autobot shuttles are opening fire on Con forces and deploying ground troops, including soldiers making the jump out of the Retoris as it opens fire on Shockwave's location... Contrail has arrived. Apocryphacius has left. Turning into a police car, Contrail fights crime! Wait, that's not right. Contrail causes crime. Elita One manages to share the grim moment with a laugh, "That's true, we're the best there is at being outgunned." She manifests her cannon, looking over the Retoris' crew and payload. With a scowl she recognizes the spot they're heading to. "Great. Shockwave's on site. Probably not the only high command out there, time to be abusive and elusive." <> As the shuttle opens its cargo bay doors, she takes off at the front of the soldiers. Shockwave says, "Elita One. Again. Contrail, your services are required." <'Decepticon'> Contrail says, "As you command..." The Benign Intervention, the gleaming white capital ship with sharp corners and a bureaucratic feel to it, is at the centre of the armada. Some of the ships are orange and thorny, while others are sleak and gleaming. Others still look almost organic, and others have hard edges that mean business. The alien fleet is extremely varied. In the command centre of the flagship, K'gard, a green skinned alien with two sets of arms, sits, clasping his upper hands together in contemplation as he hears the reports. "...full on assault by the Decepticons by the looks of it," an officer is saying. "75% of Autobot bases are under attack. It isn't going to be possible to hit the Decepticons without hitting the Autobots as well. Should we... hold fire?" the officer asks nervously. Dammit Prime, K'gard thinks. I wanted so very hard for it not to come to this, but your precious Vector Sigma means too much to you. K'gard promised both himself and Silas he wouldn't back down from this moment: "No. Commence bombardment as planned." From the heavens, huge, slow moving canisters with explosives begin to fall, saturating massive swaths of land. One bomb hits the outpost Shockwave had just blown a hole into, and the outpost detonates, knocking the space gun back. Bombs are falling elsewhere. Decepticons and any Autobots nearby begin running for cover as fire threatens to overtake them. Shockwave drops Alien Armada - Primary Fleet. Flipping into a modified F-35B Lightning II, the sky is not the limit. Mazzenine This is a pretty world. Containing one major continent, Mazzenine's terrain includes arid and dry forests, huge shrub-covered canyons as deep as the Empire State Building, dense jungles, and swamp land. While there is no longer any sapient life here, there is much in the way of fauna and flora. Rumbling beasts the size of houses, tiny chittering rodents, tall and spindly trees that spiral up to and intertwine with one another, and more. But it is not all nature and peace here. Dotting the landscape are Autobot and Decepticon outposts of varying sizes. The headquarters are sprawling complexes that rival a human city in area. The outposts are bunkers, or comm stations, or far off garrisons. They are battling over the planet's natural resources, including oil, hydro-electric, crystals, and ores. Though not as rich in energy as Earth, this world would still be a fine catch for either side. Contents: Alien Armada - Primary Fleet F-35B Lightning II Elita One Exosuit Medical Helicopter Blaster Rodimus Prime Scorponok Shockwave Shockwave is thrown back as the outpost detonates. He hadn't quite expected this, but he was able to move away in time to avoid being overtaken by the fireball that was an outpost. The gun twirls handle over barrel until Shockwave transforms into robot mode and lands hard in a makeshift trench that a digger-Con has built. He looks up at the sky as bombs drop. "The Coalition is more willing to accept Autobot casualties than I had expected," he comments out loud to the Decepticon sniper beside him. The sniper doesn't respond, looking on in awe as the sky is filled with firepower. Shockwave isn't one to be distracted, though, and as he sees Elita One approach he assigns Contrail to help kill her. And just to make things quicker, Shockwave appears from his trench just long enough to pop off a quick shot before ducking back down. "I'm gonna take you down, Scorponok!" cries Hardline, the big truck Autobot who rushes Scorponok with his claymore. However, Scorponok expertly snaps a claw shut around the claymore before it ever knicks him. "You remind me of Sentinel Prime, Autobot!" Scorponok yells, yanking the sword away. He then grabs Hardline by the waist, then the torso, and pulls them both in different directions. "AAAGHHH NOOO!" Hardline screams before his body is ripped in half, fuel lines and cables still connected between the two halves before they too snap. "Now you REALLY remind me of Sentinel Prime, hahaha!" Scorponok guffaws, flinging the halves at horrified Autobot onlookers. "WHO IS NE--" Suddenly, however, a massive explosion flings Scorponok to the ground. He looks up, expecting some careless Decepticon bomber up there. But none seem responsible! "Where did that come from!?" Scorponok demands. "Sir, it came from the Coalition!" yells the AWACS gumby, who rushes kind of behind and to the side of Scorponok. He doesn't want to be shot, after all. "THE COALITION!?" Scorponok yells. Then... "HAHAHAHAHAHA! Rodimus, I could have told you this would happen! AHAHAHAHA! Decepticons, slay alien and Autobot alike, and this time, TAKE NO PRISONERS!" Scorponok then transforms into base mode, and sonic blasts shriek out from his turrets up at alien fighters and at Autobots! Avarice leaps into the air, his wings folding around him as he reconfigures into a sweepcraft. Sanguine This Agusta A109 helicopter appears to have been converted into an air ambulance. It is predominantly red and white, with a red cross emblazoned on either side near the long, slender tail boom and again on the bottom of the aircraft. The A109 is not a large helicopter, but there's ample room in the long cab to accommodate patients and two large windows from the front to give the pilots an excellent vantage point to spot individuals in distress. The A109 rests on three retractable landing gear, and is held aloft by four long rotors and kept steady by four small tail rotors in the boom. Sweepcraft curses as he's blinded by smoke and fire. Bombs explode all around him but he manages to avoid being blasted into oblivion. The sweep rises over the smoke to get a clear view and he quickly spots the disembarking autobots. After a few hesitations, he picks his target which happens to be a flying autobot... he hates flying aurobots. Avarice starts chasing Sanguine fires quick blasts in her direction. Scorponok sprawls out into his enormous battlestation mode! F-35B Lightning II flies around the alien bombardment, and she mutters, "...so we're going to find their loved ones and murder their loved ones on galactic television, right? Maybe film it in IMAX? IMAX, because 3D is still too blurry. ...yeah, that sounds about right." Contrail peels out into a complicated set of aerial maneuovres to dodge the bombadment! It is surely an inspiring sight to any Decepticons who see it? Brakepump absorbs Sanguine's advice like a really optimistic sponge before leaping out his shuttle with the rest of his unit. He transforms into his standard hovercar mode and rolls out into the jungle! On a larger scale, Autobot aerial units are redeploying against Decepticon ships threatening the Coalition, as ridiculous and suicidal as it may seem. On the Retoris, Datapop takes control of the ship so that Blaster and any remaining Autobots can make the jump. Rodimus himself dives off the ramp to engage Scorponok, when a Coalition bomb explodes next to him, catching Prime completely off guard. He hits the ground uncomfortably close to Scorponok, systems fuzzing out and resetting as he pulls himself up, a red, yellow, and orange bullseye for Scorponok and nearby Decepticons. Meanwhile, as K'gard watches the bombardment, Silas of MECH approaches behind him to join him at his side. "You did the right thing, K'gard. Those Autobots would have turned on you sooner or later. Their precious collective *conscience* would have inevitably gotten in the way of our Coalition doing what must be done to keep the galaxy safe. And besides..." He grins smugly as he watches flashes of light across the continents. "...since they're occupied with one another, it's the best time to strike." <'Decepticon'> Shockwave says, "Contrail, change priorities. Rodimus Prime is vulnerable." <'Decepticon'> Scorponok says, "Prime you say!?" <'Decepticon'> Shockwave says, "Vulnerable and near your position." <'Decepticon'> Scorponok says, "PRIIIIME. Hnnnnh. Yes, you may attack him, Contrail, but *I* will get the killing blow! Understand?" <'Decepticon'> Contrail says, "...yes, of course I understand." Explosions rip around the area, sending Bots and Cons flying, some of which unintentional. The cluster explosion of bombs creep closer to Elita One as she charges. <> With only a few seconds to spare, she leaps into a trench, crouching as the explosions wash overhead. Screams of agony and confusion echo throughout the area. And with her, are a few other Con trenchfighters, who also sought refuge. The two sides look at each other for a moment. She pushes off her feet, socking one in the crown, staggering him. She snags his weapon, firing off three rounds at the two others caught by surprise. After a moment, she pitches the weapon to the ground. With a clumsy leap, she climbs atop the trench, moving inward when sniper fire catches her off guard, sending her tumbling. She lays on the battlefield, grimacing from the shoulder wound. "Urgh, that was no ordinary sniper..." Her hand bawls into a fist, "Fine, fine...." She scrambles for cover, harder said than done, as the battle rages around her. She slips back into the trenches, towards the sniper's position. For a few moments, its that level in every single CoD game, turn corner, shoot the Con, turn a corner, shoot the Con. It was almost reflex when Shockwave was discovered, her at a decent flanking position. She snaps off a shot before fully evaluating her choices. Exosuit keeps pace with the rest, lighting up approaching Cons and sinking gauntlet blade under the chin of one in particular that gets in too close. Pulling her blade free she kicks the mech away into another and continues on, strafing to keep away from the Coalition's bombs that rain down on the battlefield. "Damn that K'Gard. Figured he'd be pushed to attack us soo- Ergh!" A lancing shot from the battlestation ahead strikes the ground at her feet, exploding it and sending Velum flying back, the suit sliding several feet after it hits the ground. There's a few sparks, but the damage isn't too bad, the Nebulan quick to stand and zero in on Scorponok, raising rifle as she pushes on forward towards him and fires off a barrage of lasers at him. Medical Helicopter manages to weave around Avarice's shots, though she's not nearly as fast. This unfortunately leads the docbot into Scorponok's field of fire. Her airframe shudders, but ultimately holds, and her flight assembly or rotors don't take too much damage. Unable to put up much fight against Avarice in her 'copter mode Sanguine dives towards the ground at a steep angle and transforms just before her rotors strike the dirt. Tucking into a roll, a pair of red and white rods snap out from her right gauntlet, and with her left to steady she crouches and fires off a rather conspicious bolt of electricity towards the Sweep Avarice overhead. The Agusta A109's cab and tail boom split open to reveal the Autobot doctor Sanguine. Blaster is caught up in the mix of smoke and fire and there's really not much for him to do at the moment but stumble and swerve, attempting to stay on his feet as he looks for some sort of cover. "I'm not even gonna' say that was the bomb. Not even gonna' say it." This is muttered more to himself than anyone else, as he's focused on spinning off some random exploded debris and into a trained kneel. He grabs at a piece of something or other and hoists it up and hurls it into the air and off towards the Seeker that he's been ordered to take care of. This stupid rock is probably not going to do much of anything, but Blaster is all about trying to get attention on him and away from Prime. He hears things. As the bombs continue to fill the skies, alien airships descend as well. Complex formation flying and a meticulously planned battle strategy limits the danger their own capital ships' bombs pose to them. Laser bolts strafe Decepticon positions, but any Autobots in close quarters combat or fighting hand-to-hand is likely to be hit as well. Those in the air--Seekers, Sanguine, Avarice, and others--are all fair game. On the Benign Intervention's bridge, K'gard watches all this grimly. "I know," he replies to Silas. The same officer from before then reports: "The Autobot fleet is moving... ah, against the Decepticons. It looks like they're trying to avoid us." K'gard closes his eyes and shakes his head. Such nobility, yet so misplaced. K'gard is very uncomfortable with attacking someone who's refusing to attack back. "Maybe this is a mistake," he mutters. Shockwave ducks back down as an alien airship passes overhead. He takes aim and fires, blowing it out of the sky. He turns back to the sniper he was talking to earlier, but sees he's been taken out by aircraft fire. Then he feels pain himself, as Elita One lights him up. The Decepticon vaults out of the now compromised trench, firing a blast at an Autobot Titan before spotting Blaster hurling debris at Contrail. Shockwave charges towards him, wrongly believing that the aliens will veer away from him if he's close to an Autobot. A geyser of dirt and plants goes up as an airship shoots just behind him, but it doesn't stop him from getting to Blaster. Does it stop him from decking the Autobot DJ? F-35B Lightning II has her attention on Rodimus Prime. She swoops overahead and then transforms to line up a shot on the fearless Autobot leader. Contrail quickly bloorts out some acid and then is whizzing away to avoid... a rock... and more alien bombardment. She calls out, "...did Swindle buy all the GOOD weapons, Autobots? Rocks? Really?" In a transformation that is harder than it looks, Contrail rises up into robot mode. <'Decepticon'> Shockwave says, "Scorponok, the Autobot fleet is moving to intercept our own. It is limiting our ability to retaliate against the Coalition in space." Sweepcraft dives into the smoke to follow his target but as soon as he exits the cloud, he's blasted and his servo-motors starts to malfunction. "uuurg what is this." The Sweep transforms back into his robot mode and lands in front of the Autobot raising a small cloud of dust around his feet. He looks straight at Sanguine as his optics start to glow. "Out of my way Autobot!...or DIE" he sreams as he unleashes two red beams of energy towards Sanguine. The sweepcraft splits open and unfold, revealing the sweep known as Avarice. Defense Base shudders as more bombs explode around him, filling his sensors with smoke. Laser blasts patter his hide, but he pays it no heed. "Prime!?" Scorponok roars, hearing of his vulnerability, yet barely able to see him through all the smoke. The smoke parts briefly, revealing Prime's prone form on the ground nearby! "YES! I have long awaited this moment, Rodimus Prime! When I kill you, you'll be Prime number three on my tally! Hahaha! Oh, but I suppose Galvatron may be upset that I denied HIM the chance to destroy his enemy! He'll just have to get over it!" Scorponok transforms into scorpion mode, scuttling towards Prime and trying to smash him with a claw. "YES! Die, Rodimus! Die here, while your FRIENDS rain bombs down upon your men! It's the PERFECT DEATH for you!" Zarak, now in Nebulan mode, pokes his head out of the hatch on Scorponok's chest. "We did warn you about the Coalition, didn't we Rodimus?" Zarak says pointedly. "You should have sided with us sooner! Now... it's too late!" And yet, that chest compartment could be a way into Zarak's private suite! Could this be an opportunity for Velum?... Scorponok collapses down into his terrifying scorpion mode! <'Decepticon'> Scorponok says, "Nngh. Have the fleet hold as long as they can!" <'Decepticon'> Lord Zarak adds, "And make sure to *record* every second of the Autobot fleet holding its fire against the Coalition." <'Decepticon'> Shockwave says, "Underst--" Silas would put a hand on K'Gard's shoulder to reassure him, but the alien is taller. Well, he could put his hand on a lower shoulder, but the thought creeps him out a bit. "No, no, no, K'gard," Silas says. "It's a hard thing to do, I know, but you must remember this. Every Autobot you fail to kill today is one that will be shooting at your men tomorrow. It must be done and we both know it." <'Decepticon'> Shockwave says, "--rail, targeting data on Rodimus Prime required." K'gard opens his eyes again, staring forward at the screen as Silas attempts to reassure him. He had hoped for strikes with surgical precision. Disable the Decepticons. Blockade Cybertron. Drill to Vector Sigma. Destroy the supercomputer. Leave. Now they're bogged down in a violent, drawn out shooting war against the Decepticons with the Autobots caught in the middle. How did it all go so wrong? Elita One ducks as another mass explosion rips through the area. Again she was in the trench and free of the repercussions. With a scowl, she ducks back around the corner only to find Shockwave gone. The Femme's scowl deepens. <> She surveys the area, noting the air superiority that comes standard with a Decepticon invasion. She lines up a shot on Contrail from her entrenched position, "Yeah, keep on that arc just a moment longer..." She kneels down, raising the cannon to her eyes, and cracks off her cannon. With Datapop and the Autobot fleet playing 'robot shield' to keep the Decepticons off of the Coalition, soaking up fire from both... forces on the ground take the fight directly to the Cons with lightning strike intensity. Rodimus Prime's shoulders sag, trying to right himself as Contrail and Scorponok comes in for the kill... He eyes Scorponok wearily. "Destroy me? ...Join you?" His shoulders rise and fall, breathing heavily... And then the camera zooms in for a close up of Rodimus Prime as both enemies open fire. "Not today, Scorponok." He easily sidesteps Contrail's strafing run with a grin, and dashes towards Scorponok, leaping into the air with a flip and landing on Scorponok's massive claw in racer mode, peeling out and making some sick air and he uses the Decepticon leader as a ramp, twisting in the air. "It's going to take more than that, Zarak!" Rodimus Prime transforms into a sleek Cybertronian Street Racer! Because if you're gonna ride... "...Primus I actually hit him." Sanguine marvels as she rises from her crouched stance only to be engulfed in debris from the orbital bombardment. Perhaps foolishly, the doctor stands her ground long enough for Avarice to touch down in front of her. Sanguine's optics go wide, and she raises her left arm to shield herself only to be blasted by Avarice's energy beam. "Ah!" The attack is sufficient to tear through the armor on her arm and damage her torso-plate. The doctor falls to one knee, mechfluid leaking through a seam. Sanguine seems to give firing back a moment's thought, but a quick glance at the devastation around her seems to convince the doctor that she might be more useful to the cause alive. She springs up and transforms, hoping that her rotors will throw up some more dust to distract Avarice while she darts among the devastation, a doctor-in-being. Sanguine's rotors snap to and begin to spin while her torso folds inwards to form an Agusta A109 helicopter. In the distance, a big problem for the Decepticons rises out of the trees: OMEGA SUPREME. The massive Guardian lurches forward towards the primary Decepticon attack bases, more or less unopposed in his approach route. Rewind has left. Blaster probably snaps his fingers or something at the fact that his rock didn't connect. But that doesn't give him a chance to really do much of anything except turn to grab another one. "Round Two, baby..." Unfortunately, this doesn't have a chance to come to pass because he's getting decked in the faceplate by Shockwave. It is a hit that he wasn't expecting and thus gets sent end over end by the punch! Of course, while this is happening, there's also the fact that it is raining down bombs and such, which also helps with the overdramatic flailing and skidding of Blaster's body. He collides with the ground and slides into some rock, getting buried underneath it a bit. "... Isn't it ironic?" lyrically quotes the Autobot DJ before he's pushing rocks and such off him. One of his optics is flickering as he tries to keep his systems under control and gets back to his feet. Blaster's speakers start to bump some chanting: "Yah Yah Yah, Yah Yah..." as the musical maestro takes off in a brisk run off in the direction of Shockwave. Cue: http://youtu.be/mU4Oc0Fmfmg Looking at Blaster, it looks more like he's about to dive into some kind of dance move than actually fight. Still, though, he dips and slides, getting himself close enough to twist and dive at the offensive Decepticon with what probably passes for a cheap 'Spear' and a battle cry of: "WOO-HAH!". <'Decepticon'> Shockwave says, "Omega Supreme? Contrail, Intelligence has him on Cybertron. Have we been tricked?" <'Decepticon'> Shockwave is thinking back to the time Rodimus once snuck Metroplex off Earth. <'Decepticon'> Contrail says, "interesting question. Avarice, use your Sweep powers to investigate!" Exosuit 's shots land, but Scorponok hardly even notices her, which is a good thing. She's already lining up to lay down more fire, but a stray bomb from the Coalition strikes down near her, sending her suit aside and knocking out visual sensors a moment. "Damnit, not now!" She growls, hitting a few buttons and opening her cockpit a little to see. There's Scorponok again.. and Zarak looking out of his back! Looks like it's time to do something stupid. Forcing her suit back up Velum sprints with a sparking leg up behind the giant robo scorpion while Prime's keeping him busy, already affixing matching helmet to her battlesuit and unclipping crossbelt while she makes a move to scale up the side of Scorp. "ZARAK!" Velum barks at him when she reaches the top, immediatly jumping from her suit and dashing for the hatch, her suit falling away lifeless as she aims to tackle Zarak back into Scorponok with her. <'Decepticon'> Avarice says, "... I...I'll see what I can do. *Avarice has no idea what to do*" Mazzenine This is a pretty world. Containing one major continent, Mazzenine's terrain includes arid and dry forests, huge shrub-covered canyons as deep as the Empire State Building, dense jungles, and swamp land. While there is no longer any sapient life here, there is much in the way of fauna and flora. Rumbling beasts the size of houses, tiny chittering rodents, tall and spindly trees that spiral up to and intertwine with one another, and more. But it is not all nature and peace here. Dotting the landscape are Autobot and Decepticon outposts of varying sizes. The headquarters are sprawling complexes that rival a human city in area. The outposts are bunkers, or comm stations, or far off garrisons. They are battling over the planet's natural resources, including oil, hydro-electric, crystals, and ores. Though not as rich in energy as Earth, this world would still be a fine catch for either side. Contents: Alien Armada - Primary Fleet Contrail Elita One Exosuit Medical Helicopter Blaster Cybertronian Street Racer Giant Scorpion Shockwave With a hiss of pressure the cockpit to the exo opens up, Velum climbing out of her battlesuit Avarice watches as Sanguine runs away from him...not that he can blame her. For a moment he considers chasing her but he decides to go for a more worthy prey. He rises into the air and survey the area. He can't miss Omega Supreme but he's not looking for a /that/ worthy target...until he gets ordered to investigate his appearance. Avarice transforms and speeds towards the guardian. Taking great care to remain as far as possible, he fires his laser lasso in an attempt to "catch" Omega. Avarice leaps into the air, his wings folding around him as he reconfigures into a sweepcraft. The Global Pose Tracker marks that Sweepcraft has 'skipped' his action for this round. "What--" Scorponok grunts as his own limb serves as nothing more than a ramp for Rodimus's escape! The big Decepticon has plenty of ramps, but that wasn't one of them! "CONTRAIL! Get him! Destroy him! Make" Scorponok himself turns to blast Rodimus with his stinger, but then he's menaced by a much smaller threat--Velum! "What!?" Zarak blurts out as Velum tackles him, and they both tumble down... into Zarak's private suite! "Agh!" Zarak grunts as he slams against the footrest of his bed, slumped against it upside down with his legs dangling out. Mostly, though, he's just rattled from the impact, thanks to his power armor. However, the inside of Scorponok is not defenseless, as Velum is attacked by... serving girls!? Yes, Velum is immediately assailed by scantily clad serving girls, who attack her with an assortment of pillows, wine bottles, and ice picks. They're all screeching at the tops of their lungs. Outside, Scorponok staggers about aimlessly as bombs explode around him. "ZARAK!!! Get that... Nebulan... WITCH out of me!!!" he screams. Zarak detaches himself from Scorponok! Contrail transforms back into jet mode, and she does a low pass over Rodimus Prime, looking for weakness. She reports to Shockwave, <> Flipping into a modified F-35B Lightning II, the sky is not the limit. Shockwave and Blaster exchange blows, with Shockwave decking him and Blaster driving a makeshift spear into his gut. The jagged metal hits to his left side, just below his hexagonal chest plate. "Nnngh..." the Decepticon Military Commander reaches down, grabbing the spear and yanking it out with one hard yank. He then tosses it aside, letting it clatter uselessly on the rapidly blackening ground. Shockwave raises his fist and... ...a bomb goes off, knocking Shockwave over and sending him careening along the ground amidsts fire and smoke. Once he finally becomes still again, Shockwave picks himself up off the ground, covered in scrapes and bruises. He looks up at the sky as a fleet of alien airships approach. Desperate to take action, Shockwave leaps into the air and reconfigures into gun mode, firing a wide beam blast that encompasses three alien ships, Blaster's position, and a certain high flying Cybertronian racer with a fetish for the only two significant femmes in FC existence. Shockwave refrains from actually exploiting this, though. The airships are annihilated. How do Blaster and Rodimus Prime do? Shockwave's legs combine as his back unfolds. A wide, silver barrel appears out of subspace and connects to his arms, completing his transformation into ray gun mode. Fortress Maximus has arrived. Cybertronian Street Racer transforms in the air and hits the ground on two feet as Velum gets up close and personal with Zarak. He grins, watching her crash into the Nebulan terrorist. "Scrap. That *was* stupid." Nothing but admiration. He shoots a look up to triplechanging Director of Security as she passes overhead, the bombardment once again missing it's mark on him... He charges towards Scorponok, ready to strike...and catches a huge blast to the side from Shockwave, slamming him through a Decepticon wall. You can tell it's Decepticon because it's purple. He pulls himself to his feet, frustrated that he didn't see the Contrail/Shockwave tandem assault coming. <> He charges forward again, towards Scorponok's side this time and sprigs into the air, bringing his axe hand down on the scorpion as hard as he can. Rodimus Prime dares to transform into his ROBOT MODE! He has the touch AND the power! Got him! Down Velum and Zarak tumble down inside of Scorponok until they land in the Nebulan's suite. She would probably admire the interior, but she doesn't quite care nor pay attention, not when the head *Master himself is right in front of her. "Bet you didn't expect me." Velum sneers while standing from the fall, actually smirking. She's going to enjoy this. Or she was until serving girls attack! The pillows and wine bottles don't phase her too much since she's wearing combat gear, but that ice pick certainly does the trick when it skewers her in the side. "Argh!" Velum curses in her native tongue, not having enough patience and just swinging robotic arm wide to smack away several girls at once. "Back off!" She hisses at them and grunts when yanking out blood coated pick, turning it in her hand and staring down Zarak with a fire in her eyes. "Call off your girls and fight me on your own!" She doesn't even wait for him to order the women, though, already lunging for him and swinging the ice pick to stab through any gaps in his armor. Still occupied with the bombing itself, Elita One puts out another command on the Autobot's channel. It was a gamble of course, not to mention how many guns were still operable, but there had to be a chance they could mitigate losses here. She instinctively flinches when Shockwave rips a mighty sweeping attack across the sky. Cursing her own instinct, she steels up again, assessing the area. Contrail didn't even note her existance. No telling what she was doing. "Thus...', Elita One proposes to herself, 'it must be important enough to stop.' Shockwave would have to wait for the moment. She was just about to squeeze the trigger when Rodimus gave a change of orders. She changes her angle, focusing on Shockwave. "This ought to take him down a peg." A smirk crosses her face for just a moment. Omega Supreme continues his approach towards the Decepticon landing party's exposed flank. Avarice's attack strikes a forcefield...Omega takes notice of him, but doesn't seem to register the Sweep as a threat, continuing on his way. <'Decepticon'> Avarice says, "Omega seems to be protected by a forcefield... I cannot say if he's the real thing or not." <'Decepticon'> Contrail says, "Oh wow, the only thing worse than Omega Supreme is Omega Supreme in a forcefield! ...ask him how he feels about Devastator?" <'Decepticon'> Contrail says, "And then run and hide behind Scorponok." <'Decepticon'> Misfire says, "I once shot Omega Supreme...which proved I could hit the board side of Omega Supreme...now if I could just hit Broadside.....But I am getting better!" All the bombs. So many bombs. Here Blaster is trying to take down Shockwave (what the hell is wrong with him?) and there's more and more bombs being dropped like flies with no ointment. And there's a lot of it happening and it is keeping Blaster off his feet. He's stumbling and slipping and there's even the fact that he's trying to stay up. "You got it, Main Mech." Blaster says, while trying to actually figure out his next move. This leaves him wide open for Gamma Raydom and he's knocked all the way backwards. There's a lot of smoke and whatever, though, so this may help for his next plan. Blaster's moving a bit slow, though, as he gets back to his feet and takes aim at Shockwave... with himself. He rushes with as much speed as he can muster. He leaps (right when Easy E takes her shot) and transforms in mid-air into nothing at all useful: a boombox and hits the ground with velocity and speed. The boom-booms around him knock him off into a sliding and scraping (he's going to need some new paint later) all across the ground and off into the general direction of Shockwave... and close enough for him to work some wireless magic. Hopefully. Blaster transforms into his Ominous Boombox mode. "Acknowledged." Sanguine performs a hard turn around a plume of dust, twisting the smoke around her rotors (not good for the engines, she chides herself) as her helicopter form zeroes in on Shockwave's position. The doctor gets very low to the ground to avoid making herself more of a target, and then transforms on the fly, hitting the ground running while her rotors fold onto her back. The twin prongs of her destabilizer slide into view on her right arm and Sanguine takes aim at Shockwave, though her legs are carrying her towards Blaster. She discharges a weaker bolt, hoping to slow Shockwave down so she can close the distance. The Agusta A109's cab and tail boom split open to reveal the Autobot doctor Sanguine. <'Decepticon'> Avarice says, "Brilliant idea... you try it first I have your back." Scorponok collapses down into his terrifying scorpion mode! <'Decepticon'> Shockwave says, "Contrail, I need a moment. Cover me." <'Decepticon'> Contrail says, "...as you wish." <'Decepticon'> Shockwave says, "Avarice, what is Omega Supreme's status? Take a squadron if you need to in order to waylay him." Across Mazzenine, alien forces are landing and engaging the Decepticons /and/ Autobots in a shooting war. There's some confusion on the Coalition's side about what they're supposed to do about the Autobots. K'gard watches all this from above, monitoring the bombardment and wondering what Rodmius's reaction is going to be. He barely even hears it when his second in command tells him that 43% of the top soil on the continent has been eradicated, and soon they'll be able to start breaking down the crust. A part of K'gard hopes Rodimus and his Autobots are able to get out of there, despite Silas's all too true comment: they /will/ be fighting the Autobots soon enough whether he likes it or not. <'Decepticon'> Avarice says, "He's ignoring me...and everything apparently. My attacks have no effect on his forcefield." <'Decepticon'> Contrail says, "Wait, he didn't react to Devastator jokes?" <'Decepticon'> Contrail says, "Tell him a Dead Crystal City joke." <'Decepticon'> Avarice says, "Didn't try it." Snapdragon has arrived. K'gard shakes his head again, gesturing at the view screen. "They aren't fighting back," he says, half to himself and half to Silas. Laser Gun knocks Rodimus Prime through a wall, bombards Blaster, and takes out a trio of airships. All in all, not too shabby. The laser gun takes immense firepower in return, though. An airship strafes him and Elita One knocks him from the sky from... well, with all the smoke Shockwave can't even see where she came from. Transforming back into robot mode, Shockwave descends and lands in a newly formed crater for cover. A shot rings up just past him, and Shockwave identifies Sanguine as the target. He doesn't know who that is, but he shoots back at her before ducking again. Now pinned down by the Autobots and aliens, Shockwave's only saving grace is that all the interference with the bombs means Blaster isn't able to reach out and mess with Shockwave's sensors. Shockwave's handle separates into legs as his barrel splits into arms. Straightening out, he completes his transformation into robot mode. Sweepcraft circles around Omega and decides to try another tactic. He stops in front of the guardian's eye and transforms back into his robot mode. "So how goes guardian? Recovered from the last beating Devastator gave you? Speaking of Constructicons Did you hear about Scrapper's plan for Crystal City? He's going to modify it so it looks like Scavenger from space." The sweepcraft splits open and unfold, revealing the sweep known as Avarice. The Global Pose Tracker marks that Avarice has 'skipped' his action for this round. "And?" Silas says on the Benign Intervention. "Don't forget, K'gard, despite the fact that MECH was formed specifically to defend the Earth by its own legitimate governments, that did not stop the Autobots from eventually betraying and attacking us. They destroyed Subaqua One, one of our most important facilities, and allowed thousands of our personnel to drown." Nevermind that was actually Marissa, and many of the victims were criminals with death penalties for the crimes they committed. "This... inaction that you see now will not last, I promise you." Giant Scorpion stumbles about, dazed and confused both by the bombs and by the incredibly unpleasant sensation of people fighting inside him! "F-Fasttrack!" Scorponok bellows as Rodimus cleaves a deep gash into him. "AID ME!" And then a little drone zips around Scorponok several times, and zips up over to Rodimus Prime, hopping onto his back and trying to slap him around across his head! "BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!" Fasttrack beeps loudly. The serving girls shriek and flee as Velum slaps them away, but Zarak himself stands, dusting himself off. "Very well, traitor--I WILL deal with you myself!" And Zarak swings a hard right at Velum's face, the armored fist liable to do quite a number on her face. Well, scars add character, they say--and Velum already has plenty. Zarak detaches himself from Scorponok! Scorponok collapses down into his terrifying scorpion mode! F-35B Lightning II transforms back to robot mode, pulls out her two-tailled whip, and she turns herself into a whirling dervish of destruction, darting through the air to lash any Autobot she sees! - and also Scorponok, to get the crunchy Velum he hides inside. Obviously. Shockwave had better repair her SO WELL after all the agrgression this act will surely bring down upon Contrail's pointed head. In a transformation that is harder than it looks, Contrail rises up into robot mode. <'Decepticon'> Contrail says, "...I hope that proves to be a sufficient distraction." <'Decepticon'> Shockwave says, "Well done, Contrail." Somewhere in the thick of it, the Autobot known as BRAKEPUMP transforms into his robot mode, setting up a perimeter with his fellow squad members. "Ok, Autobots..." He frowns a bit as Coalition fire starts to whiz past his head, and turns around at the charging Decepticon infantrymechs. "You heard Prime! Are we gonna let a situation like this show up a bunch of ROAD BOSSES like us?! Scrap no!" "SCRAP NO!" Echoes his unit, as the group settles into position and opens fire on the Decepticons, even as Coalition weaponry burns into their backs. The Autobot Titan class next to Brakepump shrieks in pain as he explodes, a Coalition shell lodging into his torso. Brakepump bites his lip as he takes aim at a Con through his sniper scope. "I've got better things to do tonight than die..." Meanwhile, OMEGA SUPREME doesn't pay much attention to Avarice, but by now the master hunter will notice a small group of Autobots traveling closely behind the behemoth, and that one of them seems to be...projecting Omega. What a bunch of jerks. <'Decepticon'> Avarice grunts, "It's not Omega. It's an hologram. I can now see that weakling projecting it." Rodimus Prime doesn't fare as well against the bombardment, this time. Preparing for a second lunge against Scorpnok, the bomb blasts around Prime stagger him, and Fasttrack actually manages to take him down! Pulling himself up to his knees, Rodimus stuggles to pull the surprisingly strong drone's full nelson off of him, when he realizes that Fastrack isn't trying to make him tap- he's making him a target! Contrail's whip slashes into his fire brand. She lands the hit, but she also makes Prime mad. Very mad. It's time to end this thing. "Alright Decepticons, you want your shots in?" Prime stands tall, and he stands alone. "Take em, if you can make them count." <'Decepticon'> Shockwave says, "Rodimus... Rodimus and his tricks." <'Decepticon'> Shockwave says, "Terminate the projector, Avarice." <'Decepticon'> Avarice says, "Consider it done." Awards List for Avarice Heart of Darkness - Acheiving the Goal By Any Means Necessary1 Star of Insight - Applying Treachery to the Empire's Glory1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zarak detaches himself from Scorponok! "That was..." Blaster unfolds from his boombox shape and rolls backwards and out into the open and into bombs. "So wack." He's not exactly able to find cover at this moment (because: bombs), considering the fact that there's nothing but explosive actions (from bombs) happening all around him. He stumbles a bit and manages to grip his sidearm (throughout the bombs), twirling it for a moment for style purposes and... gets whipped right in the chest by Contrail's Whirlwindy Shenanigans (and bombs!). This sends Blaster backwards and rolling for a few feet. After which he stays down for a second, as if trying to see if just staying down will give him a second of respite. Also? He may just be switching musical selections, which could be why his optics are flickering in and out like he's scrolling through his music files. Which he is. (During bombs.) Ominous Boombox transforms into his Blaster mode. "I do not share your confidence, Silas," K'gard replies as his forces continue to massacre the planet. One by one, Decepticon and Autobot outposts detonate as bombs rain down on them from the heavens. In space, some Decepticon shuttles and Sweeps have broken through and have begun their attacks. The Benign Intervention shakes gently, and K'gard says, "But... we're in too deep. Had the Galactic Assembly been wiser we may have been able to avoid this, but I don't see how this can end in any other way than finishing what we set out to do." "Bring it!" Velum challenges and is subsequently punched in the face. She's lucky her helmet is on, but the Earth materials don't hold up well against his Nebulan-made suit, a large dent left in it and cracks splintering over the glass as she stumbles back a step or two. She curses again and tears the ruined helmet off, tossing it aside and swinging out with her large, robotic fist right back at his face. Whether she hits or misses isn't a big concern, not when explosions outside are rocking Scorponok and the others are talking in her ear. "Looks like you got lucky this time, Zarak. I'll be seeing you again." A final glare before she clambers out of the suit to stand on Scorp's back, looking out for her pick up. Though the only thing she sees incoming is Contrail and that nasty whip of her. "Aaagh!" Velum is struck by the large whip, the cracking tip striking with a force and knocking her back while splitting her combat armor and scoring her with a deep, nasty slash across her that starts to bleed heavily. Something about that energy whip of hers, Elita One muses, that must home in on her or something for it seems to always strike. Together with the others, she helps hash out a plan. She takes cover, swapping out for her pistols again. Trusty area affect damage. Elita One stands up, a fusillade of firepower as she sprays Contrail and Scorponok with several rounds of fire. <> Sanguine is rocked by Shockwave's attacks, scorchmarks appearing along her torso as she is thrown back onto the dirt. "Paint is the least of my worries..." The doctor winces as she pushes herself up, more mechfluid oozing slowly out of the seams created in her torso-plates. "Lovely." Her optics quickly scan towards Shockwave and, more importantly, Blaster. The doctor watches him fall, hestitating only to allow Contrail to pass, and then runs over to where the communication officer lies. "I know you'll be cool." She tells Blaster while her right gauntlet opens to reveal her tools. Sanguine glances over her shoulder for Shockwave, placing herself between Blaster and the cyclops. Scorponok collapses down into his terrifying scorpion mode! Up in orbit, the battle rages between the Decepticons and the alien/Autobot forces. It's an odd battle, as the Coalition is not picky about shooting Autobots if it means getting a chance to take down a Decepticon. On the surface, earthquakes begin hitting the battle sites as more bombs fall. The planet is becoming unstable. Avarice dives towards the group of Autobot and snatch the one projecting the hologram from the group. Assuming he's successful, he rises into the air still holding his prey. "Your tricks can't fool mebut now you die!" The sweep shoves his nails into the Autobot and then make sure to crush his holo-projector before throwing it back among his friends. <'Decepticon'> Avarice says, "Autobot terminated." <'Decepticon'> Scorponok says, "Shockwave! I'm beset by enemies! I demand battlefield repairs!" <'Decepticon'> Shockwave says, "Very well, Scorponok. I--... I am receiving reports from other battle groups. The bombs have a serious chance to make this planet uninhabitable." <'Decepticon'> Scorponok says, "Has this coalition gone mad!? Another species once inhabited this world--and they're making it uninhabitable, you say? Just what are they fighting for?" <'Decepticon'> Contrail says, "I vote again for murdering their loved ones graphically on live television." <'Decepticon'> Scorponok says, "Hnnh, I already had that planned! Maybe their distant relatives, too..." <'Decepticon'> Contrail says, "But I was thinking IMAX. 3D is just too blurry, you know?" <'Decepticon'> Scorponok says, "No. I do not." Shockwave would have stayed in his crater for as long as possible, but his proximity warnings tell him that more bombs are incoming. The Decepticon crawls out to the surface just in time for a detonation to appear behind him. If cool dudes just walk away from explosions, what does that say for people that /crawl/ away? Picking himself up, Shockwave sees only red as the landscape is on fire. Where was once a simple pretty terrain, now is hell. Shockwave stumbles forward towards Sanguine and Blaster, but then thinks better of it. "Enjoy your respite while you can, Autobot. It will not last," he tells the medic. Shockwave takes to the air as he soars towards Scorponok, but the skies are not much safer than the ground was. Landing, Shockwave draws an energizer pack out of a hip compartment and slaps it against Scorponok's hull. "Time is running out, Scorponok!" he calls, raising his voice to be head over the bombs. <'Decepticon'> Contrail says, "You don't!?" K'gard looks at the monitor even as the Benign Intervention's shields flare up, protecting it from a wave of Sweep laser bolts, "We're taking heavy casualties, Silas. We're going to have to pull back. I'm ordering our airships and ground forces off the surface." This /would/ mean that the Autobots and Decepticons on the planet would live... <'Decepticon'> Shockwave says, "This does not make sense. The Autobots would be killed alongside us." "ZARAK!" Scorponok screams as he is buffeted about by more explosions. "Is that witch out of me yet!?" "Yes," Zarak reports, having dodged Velum's fist by blocking it with a pillow. As she leaves, Zarak sets himself to hitting a button that closes up Scorponok's chest again. He glares at Velum before it seals completely. "I managed to fight her off." "GOOD, WHATEVER," Scorponok says. "Grrrghk--" Ping pang! Elita's rounds smack against his armor, but Scorponok tries to ignore it. And then Shockwave comes to the rescue, slapping an energizer pack on him, and he feels revitalized! "A moment longer, Shockwave! Hrnnnh... tell our base commanders to rig their facilities to explode, then evacuate all vital equipment! As for myself... I WANT RODIMUS!" Transforming into robot mode, Scorponok levels his cannon at Rodimus. "Oh, I'll take one, Prime! YOU MIGHT REGRET IT THOUGH!" BZOOOWWW Scorponok rises up into his robot mode, with Zarak forming the head! Contrail evades Elita One's attack! Hah! ...and then a bomb explodes near her. Oh, dang! She is knocked out of the air and is forced to land. Contrail transforms into a car, and she zooms around, shooting the enemy! Okay, specifically, shooting at... yeah, Elita One, sure. Turning into a police car, Contrail fights crime! Wait, that's not right. Contrail causes crime. Avarice, meanwhile is very successful- he plucks Holodeck into the air, and since the Autobot's projector is his chest, stabs the smaller Autobot through the spark. Their deception revealed, the rest of the group scatters as Omega Supreme flickers and vanishes. Meanwhile Brakepump's unit feels the earthquake's. "Whoah! Captain, what do we do?" He glances around...most of his team is down- of the ones left standing, he's the highest ranking. "Oh, scrap..." Emptying a clip in the Decepticon's direction, he turns and waves his hands at the Coalition forces. "HEY! Hey this place is coming apart, you guys should get out of here while you-" His head explodes. His body crumples to the ground. Somewhere in another universe, Simon Furman laughs like a maniac. Elita One nods to Rodimus Prime, as the evac order is sounded. <> She starts to draw back from the battlefield, scanning the skies for interruptions or foes as she disengages. She spares a glance back over her shoulder, <> Just as the return communique comes through, an explosion is visible in the distance. She scowls, the ground beneath her trembling. She laments, "How could it have come to this?" She shakes her head, "Autobot Shuttle Retoris...>> She pauses, <> 'I've got to get a still functional shuttle out here for Prime and the others....' With that she disappears into the fray, though Blaster can still hear her communiques. Silas suddenly snaps, "K'gard! Have you already forgotten why we're here!?" He steps in front of the alien, apparently to address him directly, but also to help take his attention off of the world that's being blown to bits. "Yes, our forces are taking heavy casualties, but they're in the military! They knew the risks when they signed up! The problem is there's trillions of sentient beings all over galaxy depending on US to rid them of the Cybertronian threat! What it boils down is that WE take casualties or THEY do." He looks K'gard right in his weird alien eyes. Blaster looks over to Sanguine in the midst of getting patched up something nice. "Good lookin' out, Sangyonce." Yeah, Blaster's cool. "That's one I owe ya'." Blaster makes sure that she's going to keep count, before flipping himself back up to his feet. He takes a second to wiggle around, feeling a bit better physically after Sang's Skillz. It's about this time that the orders for retreat are given and Blaster makes with the assisting in communicating this to every Autobot still standing and fighting. With music of course. Cue: http://youtu.be/3ArhZPYplFk Blaster sticks close to Sanguine, though, to help cover her during this whole making with the rolling of the out business. His focus is now on getting gone and not on shooting Cons. Though, his weapon is ready. Just in case. <'Decepticon'> Lord Zarak says, "It makes perfect sense, Shockwave. The Coalition's goal all along was to target and destroy ALL Transformers. The Autobots were fools to believe otherwise." When Shockwave approaches, Sanguine's weapon slides into view, but she doesn't aim it at him. That seems like a one way to ticket to being blown to bits. "Story of my life." Sanguine replies to the fearsome Decepticon before he withdraws. When Blaster shows more signs of life she rises to her full height and takes a swipe of the mechfluid leaking from her. "Not as bad as it looks." She notes, before stumbling from a nearby bomb blast. It's only when Sanguine is retreating alongside Blaster, making for the nearest shuttle, that she really takes in the state of the battlefield. "...I almost prefer the Decepticons." The doctor notes to the communications officer. <'Decepticon'> Blowpipe says, "I do not think the Autobots ever believed that." Hopefully Scorponok doesn't mind blood smeared on his armor, though knowing him he'd enjoy it. While he's fighting Velum wheezes and pulls herself to the edge to start climbing down. She makes it down by the time he transforms, a hand now held against whip gashes as she stumbles along quick in the midst of the giant robot fight and explosions, searching for her downed exo. Perfect, right where she left it, and it's on its back. Approaching her suit Velum takes a moment to catch her breath, and overcome a moment of lightheadedness until she can drag herself up the big exo and drop into the seat. Visual sensors are still out so the woman has to pilot with the cockpit open, which is just fine, now standing to make a fighting retreat, though she won't leave just yet, looking to seek out out Rodimus and fire those turrets of his. A bit of payback for Scorponok. Climbing up into her large exo suit, Velum straps in, fires it up, and is ready to fight <'Decepticon'> Lord Zarak says, "Then they are fools regardless." With the planet starting to break apart--Shockwave can see huge cracks forming like a cartoon earthquake--the Decepticons begin a hurried rush back to their landing zones, but it's confusing and chaotic as nobody expected to have to pull EVERYBODY off the planet all of a sudden. Shockwave takes several running steps away from Scorponok and has to stop to steady himself. He activates his rocket boots and flies, forming up with a squadron of Seekers. He spares only a split second to look behind him to see if Scorponok is coming with him. Maybe the Headmaster plans to fight his way through a dying planet. <'Decepticon'> Shockwave says, "Regardless, I am leading my strike team back to the nearest shuttle." Lamborghini Gallardo , having successfully shot Elita One, decides to make like a rat and leave this sinking ship. She needs to go find these people's families and murder them. Right this second. Flipping into a modified F-35B Lightning II, the sky is not the limit. Contrail has left. <'Decepticon'> Scorponok says, "This planet's shaking itself apart! Very well--all forces who are able, evacuate! Those are not able, YOU WILL BE COMMEMORATED." Rodimus Prime moves through the Decepticon rain of fire smoothly, and to be honest, a little too smugly. He runs alongside Scorponok to stay between the Decepticons and Velum as she climbs into her exo, transforming into his Racing Winnebago mode. "Velum, jump!" A compartment transforms on top of the vehicle for her to aim for- a gunner's station. It's built for someone a little bigger for her, but it'll do in a pinch. He revs between the big Decepticon, and Velum trying to get as close as he can for the injured Nebulan's big leap. It's right out of a Liam Neeson Jr. movie. Avarice keeps hovering for a moment before turning his attention back towards the battle. The Autobots are retreating but the planet took massive damage from the Coalition's onslaught. Unlike many Decepticons, he remains calm but it's probably because he can fly in space by himself so a dying planet doesn't bother him much. Avarice finally transforms into his sweepcraft mode and get ready to escape. Being space-worthy doesn't mean much and a planet explodes in your face. Rodimus Prime transforms into a Cybertronian Racing Winnebago! Avarice leaps into the air, his wings folding around him as he reconfigures into a sweepcraft. K'gard stands up from his command chair and whirls towards Silas, furious. He /is/ taller than the human, AND he has an excellent hat to go along w ith it. "I recall EXACTLY why we're here, and it's to eliminate the threat that a Creation Factory-armed Cybertron would have on the rest of the galaxy." K'gard points with his upper right finger at the screen. "Yet the Autobots aren't even fighting us while we destroy the planet around them!" K'gard isn't one to get angry easily. "Perhaps there's still time to call off the invasion of Cybertron..." he wonders out loud. <'Decepticon'> Blowpipe mutters, "Tch, yes of -course- they will..." The sarcasm is audible. Scorponok growls as his fusion blast misses the Autobot leader! "Blast! I can't seem to hit him with anything! How did he get to be so damn slippery?" he grunts. "Nevermind that... DECEPTICONS! We are done here! WITHDRAW AND EVACUATE!" He hurls himself into the air, firing his anti-grav gun at the ground to accelerate his ascent Galvatron -style. Eventually he catches up with Shockwave. "SHOCKWAVE, I'm *honored* you looked behind yourself to see if I was coming with you! Or perhaps you were hoping I'd be foolish enough to stay?..." Exosuit is on a ledge near Scorponok by the time Rodimus pulls up, so her leap into the gunner's seat isn't as epic as she'd like to be, but it's still pretty cool. "On it, Prime!" She may be bleeding out, but Velum is grinning none the less and already directing her suit to take hold of the controls and swing the large turret around to train a bead on... Scorponok, who seems to be making a run for it. Perfect. "Let's teach him to mess with us." She sneers, weapon systems following after the Headmaster until they lock on and signal to fire, which Velum doesn't hold back in doing, pulling the triggers and firing off a barrage of lasers into the sky after him. Silas glares at K'gard silently for several moments, frowning, and not intimidated by his outburst either. Finally... "You know, I think I misjudged you, K'gard. I thought you had what it took. Apparently I was wrong. It seems then it's up to MECH to do what the entire galaxy can't. We don't have a massive fleet of spaceships backing us, but we do have something a lot more important..." He leans in. "A Goddamn spine." Silas then turns crisply on one heel and begins to march out of the bridge. "Sangyonce? Do me a solid?" Blaster leaps up and transforms into his Boombox mode and attempts to land in her arms during his descent, even as his speakers blare over the music playing out of him with these words: "Don't ever 'prefer' Decepticreeps. Those beats jus' ain't cool." Cue: http://youtu.be/NRdHsuuXxfk TO THE SHUTTLES! Blaster transforms into his Ominous Boombox mode. Up above, as the first Transformer shuttles are leaving Mazzenine, the Coalition ships open fire, trying to shoot down what they can. It's a gauntlet for the Autobots and Decepticons to blast their way through before getting the chance to leap into FTL to safety. Down below, the planet is barely holding it together. The top soil has been destroyed and volcanos are starting to appear in previously stable areas. On the Benign Intervention, K'gard stares back at Silas, frowning as the man tells him off, turns, and leaves. For the first time in his life, he doesn't know what to do. Sanguine deftly catches Blaster, and begins to run with him in tow towards the nearest shuttle. Not too far now, but the doctor manages to slip aboard with her patient in tow. "I don't know, Blaster." She muses, slumping into a seat. Sanguine can't resist looking at other 'bots, scanning their injuries and determining whether anyone is likely to be critical soon. "I've lived with Decepticon hate for millions of years...I had hoped it was unique." <'Decepticon'> Iguanus says, "Becoming a martyr is easy. It's becoming a war hero that's the hard part." On the Benign Intervention's bridge, a giant Amoeba crewman, having overheard that exchange, quietly mutters, "Man, that spine remark was *racist.*" Cybertronian Racing Winnebago guns it towards The Retoris, coming in low...Datapop has the ramp lowered, and sparks fly as Rodimus hits the ramp, driving into the shuttle's hangar. There is a mix of Autobots in various state of messed up-ness onboard, including Trailbreaker and his unit. Rodimus transforms into his robot mode, setting Velum down next to him. "There's EDC on board the Steelhaven, Velum. Don't die on me just yet." As a medic hurries up to Velum to prepare her for fast transport, Prime walks to the cockpit, staring out at the Coalition flagship. "Datapop, take us home." Rodimus Prime dares to transform into his ROBOT MODE! He has the touch AND the power! <'Decepticon'> Misfire says, "Woah..." "The safety of the Decepticon Warlord is vital to the stability of the Empire," Shockwave replies simply. "My concern was purely for the Decepticon cause." Shockwave shifts into gun mode and follows the rest of the squad back to their evac shuttle. Obviosuly command and the elites get the first ships off while the cannon fodder has to wait and hope. <'Decepticon'> Iguanus says, "Keep at it Misfire. I'm sure you'll sssucceed some day." "Oh, I'm sure, Scorponok," says the Warlord in question. "But nevermind your *logical treachery.* The Autobots are complete and utter fools, Shockwave," Scorponok says as he looks back at the burning planet behind him. "I thought they would be the sort to want to protect a world such as this, perhaps even give their lives for it. But when the bombs fell, they did not act. They did nothing. I do not understand. Is this supposed to be what nobility and honor are? If so, I will have none of it. Better to have no morals, than to have morals and fail to live up to them." His ruminations are brutally interrupted by a Velum-fired blast, which tears open his back sends him hurtling through the air out of control! "AGGGH!!" Fortunately his trajectory takes him through the open hatchway of the shuttle Shockwave just boarded, and he skids across the deck to the cyclops's feet, face-first. "Hnnnngh... damn you Rodimus!" Once on the shuttle and once sat down, Blaster unfolds back into his robot mode before responding to Sanguine, "Aw hell yeah, girl. You picked my favorite shuttle. The Wiz." This is probably a nickname for something else more epic and over-romanticized as Autobots are prone to do with their naming of things. "No matter what 'Cons are always the wackest. Remember that." Blaster then turns to head off towards his Always There Uhura Console and immediate jacks in to play his shuttle's exit music from the speakers. Cue: http://youtu.be/nWAGLkyxQG0 And yes, the shuttle just happens to be those colors. Ominous Boombox transforms into his Blaster mode. "Oh, I'm sure, Shockwave," says the Warlord in question. "But nevermind your *logical treachery.* The Autobots are complete and utter fools, Shockwave," Scorponok says as he looks back at the burning planet behind him. "I thought they would be the sort to want to protect a world such as this, perhaps even give their lives for it. But when the bombs fell, they did not act. They did nothing. I do not understand. Is this supposed to be what nobility and honor are? If so, I will have none of it. Better to have no morals, than to have morals and fail to live up to them." His ruminations are brutally interrupted by a Velum-fired blast, which tears open his back sends him hurtling through the air out of control! "AGGGH!!" Fortunately his trajectory takes him through the open hatchway of the shuttle Shockwave just boarded, and he skids across the deck to the cyclops's feet, face-first. "Hnnnngh... damn you Rodimus!"